00325WILLIAM BOSS: An Inventory of the Boss Family and Business Papers at the
Minnesota Historical SocietyFinding aid prepared by Lara D. Friedman-Shedlov.Minnesota Historical SocietySt. Paul MN.

Manuscripts Collection

Finding aid encoded by Stephanie Grabowski,
March 4, 1999.Finding aid written inEnglishAugust 2008Converted from EAD Version 1.0 to Version 2002 by Monica Manny Ralston, Daniel Sher, and Joyce Chapman.
OVERVIEW
Minnesota Historical SocietyBoss, William, 1869-1965.Boss family and business papers.1856-1990.Personal papers of agricultural engineer
William Boss and interior designer Harland Boss, business records of the
Specialty Manufacturing Company, and genealogical information on the Boss and
related families.9.0 cu. ft. (9 boxes).See Detailed Description section for shelf
locations.
BIOGRAPHIES OF THE BOSS FAMILY AND
HISTORY OF THE SPECIALTY MANUFACTURING COMPANY
William Boss

William Boss was the fourth of eleven children (nine of whom lived to
adulthood) born to Janette and Andrew Boss. Born on October 7, 1869, William
spent his childhood on the family farm in Gilford township, near Zumbro Falls,
Minnesota. As a young man he apprenticed himself in the carpentry and building
trade but soon followed his brother Andrew to the University of Minnesota
School of Agriculture. While he didn't share his brother's interest in farming,
he wanted to take advantage of courses such as manual training, which
instructed students in the use of mechanical drawing tools, as well as classes
in mathematics and physics. Boss's aptitude for things mechanical soon led to a
position as an instructor in steam engineering and eventually as a full-time
professor at the school in a new field called agricultural engineering.

In 1895 Boss married Edna Rider (b. 1871) of Oak Center, Minnesota.
The couple bought a house in St. Paul's St. Anthony Park neighborhood. It was
there that Boss began the Specialty Manufacturing Company in 1900 (see below
for history of the Specialty Mfg. Co.). By 1909, the business had grown big
enough to compete seriously with Boss's teaching obligations at the University.
He decided to resign from his teaching position to devote himself to the new
company, but the pressures of World War I soon brought him back to the
University. The School of Agriculture had contracted with the government to
train soldiers and needed Boss to lecture and supervise. With many of his best
men gone to the service, Boss was at first reluctant to leave his growing
business. He eventually agreed to come back on a part-time basis and by the end
of the war had resumed full-time work, now as head of the department.

In addition to his success in business, Boss was respected for his
contributions in the emerging field of agricultural engineering. He was largely
responsible for founding the agricultural engineering department at the
University of Minnesota, pioneered the creation of its curricula, and designed
the first major building to house it. He was a charter member and president of
the American Society of Agricultural Engineers and in 1943 was awarded the John
Deere Medal for Distinguished Achievement in the Application of Science and Art
to the Soil. Around 1945 he started the Boss Engineering Company with sons
Ronald and Harlan, which did consulting and development work for other
companies.

Boss also gave his time to many other scientific, social, civic, and
fraternal organizations. An active church-goer, Boss was ordained as an elder
of St. Paul's Central Presbyterian Church in 1919 and was head of the church's
finance committee for over thirty years.

William and Edna Boss had two sons, Ronald and Harlan. After Edna
passed away in 1953, Boss's niece, Florence Anding, became his housekeeper and
companion. Boss remained active all his life, and continued to report to work
at Specialty Mfg. Co. well into his 80s. William Boss died in 1965.

Harlan D. Boss

Harlan David Boss was born in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1908, the second
son of William and Edna Boss. In 1932 he graduated from the University of
Minnesota's interior decorating program (then called "interior architecture"),
which was taught through the School of Engineering and Architecture. After an
unsuccessful stint selling venetian blinds, he moved on to a position with
Yungbauer Interiors in downtown St. Paul. In 1938 the World's Fair drew him to
New York City. Entranced by the beauty of that city and attracted by the
opportunities, he decided to stay and spent several years designing glass
lamps, goblets, and bottles for an export company before World War II and the
draft loomed. Boss enlisted in the army, where he was trained in radio and
intelligence, and spent the final years of the war in Europe. His company
followed the front through England, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, but
never saw combat.

After returning to the United States at the end of the war, Boss
worked for his father in the Specialty Manufacturing Company but continued to
pursue interior decorating jobs on the side. After about ten years, he had
mustered enough customers to start his own business, Boss Interiors, in St.
Paul's Midway area. He was soon joined by Gene Dawley of New York, who became
his partner in the business as well as his closest friend and life-long
companion. The pair were soon in demand by local theaters, galleries, arts
organizations, and individuals. News about Boss's design work for such events
as the Minneapolis Symphony Ball and the "Fiesta Mall" in downtown St. Paul was
featured regularly in the women's section of the St. Paul
Pioneer Press during the 1960s. Boss also periodically wrote a
decorating advice column.

Through his work with the William Boss Foundation, Boss gained a
reputation as a patron of the arts and his close friends included many
individuals prominent in that arena, such as choreographer, artistic director,
and founder of the Minnesota Dance Theater Loyce Houlton, and St. Paul Opera
founder and general director Virginia Olson. Boss and Dawley entertained
frequently in their home on St. Paul's Portland Avenue, playing host to
everything from theater opening night receptions to elaborate Christmas parties
for the neighborhood children.

Although he chose to focus his career on his interior decorating
business, Boss remained a board member of the Specialty Mfg. Co. and was
chairman from 1966 until his death in February 1993 at age 83.

Specialty Manufacturing Company

Frustrated by the extra time he had to spend raking up grass clippings
after mowing the lawn of his St. Paul home, William Boss came up with the idea
of constructing a grass catcher out of wire and canvas which could be easily
attached and detached from the mower. The enthusiasm of neighbors and friends
for the new device encouraged Boss to begin producing them for sale, and the
invention became the start of the Specialty Manufacturing Company in 1900.
Sales grew so quickly that before long Boss moved his business to its own
factory, eventually ending up on University Avenue (1915-1990s) and later in
White Bear Lake (1990s on). The easy-emptying grass catcher was soon followed
by several other popular products, including the flow-through detachable hose
reel and the acme egg weighing scale. The company soon developed a full line of
home lawn and garden care products, including multiple models of hose reels,
grass catchers, and water sprinklers. From the mid-1960s on, Specialty focused
on flow control products and shut-off valves for all types of liquids under
pressure. The original grass catcher remained one of their most popular
products, however; the same model was manufactured from 1902 to the early
1980s.

As the name Specialty Manufacturing Company aptly suggests, much of
the company's business, especially after 1934, came from custom manufacturing
on a contract basis. During World War II they made a number of products under
government contract, such as a round washer for use in the manufacture of war
products. Another major client was Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company
(later 3M) for whom the Specialty Mfg. Co. developed and produced Scotch tape
dispensers. Other products produced for 3M, their biggest single customer for
contract work, have included bow tying machines and box sealing ribbon.

Though it was incorporated in 1947, Specialty Mfg. Co. has remained
essentially a family-run company. Founder William Boss acted as its first
chairman, director, and general manager, followed by his son Ronald Boss - and
in later years - his granddaughter and other descendants.

SCOPE AND CONTENTS

The collection includes both personal papers of Boss family members
and family business records. The bulk of the collection consists of the
personal papers of William Boss, a professor and head of the agricultural
engineering program at the University of Minnesota and founder of the Specialty
Manufacturing Company; those of his son Harlan Boss, a St. Paul interior
designer and patron of the arts; and genealogical information on the Boss and
related families. The collection also includes records, dating primarily from
the 1950s through the 1980s, of the Specialty Manufacturing Company, the Boss
family business, which specialized in the manufacture home lawn care tools and
flow control products. An additional small body of records of the William Boss
Foundation is also included in the collection.

The following related materials are separately cataloged in the
Minnesota Historical Society's book collections:

Two memoirs by William Boss, The Beginning
Years of the Specialty Manufacturing Company and Early Experiences at the School and College of Agriculture,
University of Minnesota.

Two engineering textbooks by William Boss, Instructions for Traction and Stationary Engineers and
Mechanical Training.

Numerous publications of the Central Presbyterian Church (Saint
Paul, Minn.).

Catalogs of flow control products from the Specialty Manufacturing
Company.

The following related materials are separately cataloged in the
Minnesota Historical Society's museum collections:

Promotional display materials and samples of products manufactured
by the Specialty Manufacturing Company, including the grass catcher, hose rack,
and egg scale.

CATALOG HEADINGS

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

[Indicate the cited item and/or series
here]. Boss Family and Business Papers. Minnesota Historical
Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional
examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 15,183

Processing Information:

Processed by: Lara D. Friedman-Shedlov, January 1998

Catalog ID number: 09-00319546

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Boss and Related Families Genealogical
Materials

Genealogical material in the collection was collected primarily by
William Boss, his son, Harlan Boss, and his niece, Florence Anding. The
materials, primarily correspondence, press clippings, and family charts,
document the Boss and related families, including the Bartlett/Bartelot and
Rider families. A series of notebooks created by Florence Anding are
particularly rich in information on the Boss family and include several round
robin letters circulated among the family members during the 1930s and 1940s as
well as copies of other family correspondence.

Papers in this series document the career of William Boss and his
marriage and life with Edna Rider Boss. Materials include scrapbooks, photos
and photo albums, and correspondence, as well as records relating to Boss's
work in the field of agricultural engineering and as head of the Finance
Committee of the Central Presbyterian Church.

144.J.2.4F1Biographical Material and
Memorabilia:

Material in this series consists of miscellaneous personal
papers and records, primarily concerning Boss's family and marriage. Photos and
photo albums depicting Boss and his extended family make up a large portion of
this series.

Includes photos of the Boss's siblings and their families,
including the Marshall Boss Lamb, Andrew Boss III, Jean Boss Knight, and
Alexander Boss families. Also includes photos of Edna Rider Boss's family.

Biographical and Technical Notebook,
undated.

Includes notes on important events in Boss's life, technical
diagrams, and lecture notes on engineering.

Christmas Card Lists and Other Lists, 1940,
1955-1963.144.J.2.5B2Christmas Jingles and Other Verses, undated and
1924-1946.

Boss often wrote clever, rhyming verses to hand out with
Christmas favors for each member of the family or for other special
occasions.

Correspondence in the papers consists primarily of personal and
business-related letters and is arranged roughly chronologically. The files
include mostly letters received by Boss but also contain copies of some
out-going correspondence. Following the chronological series of correspondence
is a small group of topical files in no particular order. While most of the
correspondence in the papers was written to or by William Boss, this series
also includes some letters received by Edna Rider Boss in the years before
their marriage.

Each year or group of years is arranged in roughly
alphabetical order by topic or correspondent. Note that while the dates marked
on the files are generally correct, many files have some material from years
other than those indicated. The correspondence varies from routine business
communications to detailed personal letters to and from friends and family
members.

The collection includes correspondence, articles, newsletters,
photographs, and other miscellaneous papers documenting Boss's work in the
field of agricultural engineering at the University of Minnesota. Materials
concern Boss's University teaching position, administrative matters within the
department, School of Agriculture class reunions, and the American Society of
Agricultural Engineers, of which Boss was a founding member. A number of
articles and lectures written by Boss on the subject of agricultural
engineering are also included.

The papers include annual reports, bulletins, tracts,
correspondence, finance committee reports, expense statements, and other
materials relating to Boss's involvement with the Central Presbyterian Church,
where he was a long-standing member and an elder. Most of the files concern
Boss's work as head of the church's finance committee, particularly the annual
"every member" fund raising campaign. Other prominent issues include the
endowment campaign, fund raising for church redecoration, and financial support
for a church basketball team.

Papers of William Boss's son Harlan include correspondence,
scrapbooks, photographs, and records related to his interior decorating
business, Boss Interiors. The bulk of the papers in the collection date from
the 1940s and document Boss's experiences in the army, particularly his travels
throughout Europe during World War II. In addition to the one folder of
inventories, photographs, and other related records concerning Boss Interiors,
information on Boss's work as an interior decorator can be found in the folder
of press clippings.

144.J.2.9B7Miscellaneous Personal Papers, Including Military
Service Records, Letters of Reference, and Will, undated and
1930s-1960s.Press Clippings, undated and 1943-1990 (bulk
1960s).

Mostly concerning Harlan Boss's work as an interior
designer.

Photographs, undated and 1942, 1950. 20 photos.Wartime Scrapbooks:

These scrapbooks contain photographs, drawings, and postcards
collected by Harlan Boss during his World War II service in Europe. Churches
and other architectural features of the cities he visited are a major focus of
the scrapbooks.

The William Boss Foundation was formed by Harlan Boss with an
endowment from the Boss family to assist, through major arts organizations in
the Twin Cities, young performers in need of scholarships or stipends. The
collection contains very little information on the formation and structure of
the foundation, but it appears to have been administered through the Specialty
Manufacturing Company. Records documenting the finances of the foundation and
the manner in which funds were distributed are more abundant. The bulk of the
material consists of board minutes, reports of contributions authorized, and
financial statements. A small amount of correspondence with organizations
applying for funds is also included.

Records of the Boss family business, the Specialty Manufacturing
Company, consist primarily of two types of material: administrative and
financial records, including minutes, sales reports, and balance sheets; and
promotional materials, including catalogs, advertising, and other sales
materials. Though the company was started by William Boss in 1900, the bulk of
the records date from the 1950s and later.

144.J.3.2F8History and Background.Album Made by Specialty Mfg. Co. Employees for William
Boss, 1957.

Includes labeled photos of employees at work doing clerical work
and making grass catchers, hose reels, and tape dispensers, as well as photos
of the Specialty Mfg. Co. building on University Avenue.